Start with the Issue [Revised Edition] - The Simple Essence of Intellectual Production is a book I read.
In compulsory education, questions are usually given, but in work, you need to formulate the questions yourself.
Understanding the problem is important in both cases, but is the problem appropriate? Is it really a problem? There is a significant difference in the need to deeply consider the quality of the problem.
Even as a software engineer, if you misunderstand the essence of the task at hand, you might end up devising a solution that heads in the wrong direction with an inappropriate approach.
That's why I wanted to learn about the importance of properly considering "questions," and read this book.
The book defines an Issue as follows:
- A problem that has not been settled between two or more groups
- A fundamental or unclear problem
Additionally, it lists the following as definitions of a good Issue:
- It is an essential choice
- There is a deep hypothesis
- An answer can be provided
The book considers that something which cannot be answered is not an Issue but a worry.
From personal experience, I often feel that formulating and understanding the problem is more difficult and requires more time than solving it.
If coding is seen as the act of solving, then everyone probably feels that the preceding process takes more time.
Among the preceding processes, deeply considering the "question" at the very beginning is often overlooked (I think this is because it is not a skill cultivated much in compulsory education). So, when in doubt about solving something, I want to be conscious of reviewing the "question."
